Answer

The Postwar Period in Great Britain     

            The period after 1945 is seen as the postwar period in Great Britain and is marked by a series of events which influenced the life of British citizens as the well as people living in the larger British empire. Before postwar Britain events, the British empire was so large that it was said that “the sun does not set in the British empire”. However, events in the postwar Britain culminated in the collapse of the British empire.

The Postwar Period in Great Britain     

            Towards the end of the second world war, the British government, following recommendations in the Beveridge report of 1942, undertook to establish the British welfare state to provide a home for its war veterans or what was called “a home for the heroes”. The British welfare state which was basically “cradle to grave” type of social services encompassed education expansion, health care services for all, old age pensions and workmen compensation and related services. The aim of the British welfare state was to build a better society for all in the aftermath of the war.  The postwar period also saw the emergence of two main political parties namely labor party and the conservative party. The liberal party, which had been a major political party prior to World War One, lost its popularity and was relegated to a minor party in British politics.

             The labor party took over after the war in 1945 and started the process of nationalization of key industries namely coal, steel and transportation as the government felt that these industries were too critical to be left in private hands. However, the government paid handsome compensation for these acquisitions.  The move to create a British welfare state faced serious setbacks as the economy performed dismally when compared to other European nations and unemployment skyrocketed.  The British had depleted all its overseas investments and reserves during the war and was basically bankrupt during the time. Subsequent growth in preceding period was aided by loans and aid under the Marshal plan from the United States of America.  The British government consequently made significant investment in housing and established the National Health Service (NHS) to provide free and comprehensive healthcare for everyone in Great Britain. However, due to the poor economic situation the government was forced to introduce co-pay for some of the services offered such as optical services which led to loss of popularity of the ruling labor party and culminated in its loss in 1951 to the conservative party.

            The conservative party forestalled further nationalization of industries but continued to support the British welfare state initiatives implemented by the labour party largely due to their popularity within the populace.  The postwar period created a more diverse society as people living in the British empire started moving to their home countries in search of opportunities for employment. Movement of people especially to Great Britain created social tensions and gave rise to anti-immigration rhetoric even from leading politicians against people of colour.  The role of Great Britain in the world affairs diminished as demonstrated by its inability to intervene in Greece and its pull out together with France from Suez Canal crisis at the request of the US president.

            This period led to decolonization which saw British grant independence to colonies which formed the British empire.  There are many factors which contributed to the decolonization.  The decolonization stand held by the labor party which favored granting of independence to colonies and anti-imperialism foreign policy of the United States contributed to decolonization. The next factor is the surrender of British troops to Japanese forces in Asia as well as the loss of French and Dutch troops in various battles against Japanese forces which shattered the myth that imperialist forces were invincible. The two world wars had also shattered the economies of European colonial empires making it impossible to sustain overseas colonies among others.  After decolonization about 54 nations previously colonized by Britain formed the British common wealth to champion certain interests. The British Common Wealth provides a surviving trace of the old world.

            Other notable events which happened post-decolonization was formation of the State of Israel in the previously British controlled territory of Palestine, curving out of Pakistan from India and independence of Ghana among others.

            Conclusively, events in the postwar Britain led to the collapse of the British empire, created what is now one of the most robust welfare states, changed the face of world politics through creation of new states such as Pakistan and Israel and led to independence of some African states.